KUTZTOWN--The Bloomsburg University wrestling team crowned four champions and finished third at the 2012 PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Championships at Kutztown University Saturday. Bloomsburg finished with 134 points to take third behind Edinboro and Clarion.

Winning PSAC titles for the Huskies were Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) at 165 pounds; Chris Smith (Mineral, Va./Chancelor) at 174; Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) at 197 pounds and Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) at 285 pounds.
 
The Huskies also had five other place winners with Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY/Greene Central) at 133; Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood) at 149 and Andre Petroski (Glenn Mills/Springfield) each finishing second, while Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ/St. Marks) at 125 pounds was third with Matt Rappo (Holland/Council Rock South) at 141 taking fourth.
 
Bloomsburg wrestled without Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney), the defending 157-pound champion, who missed the tournament due to an injury.
 
“We wrestled well,” said Huskies head coach John Stutzman. “We had four champions, the most of any school. Finishing third is not what we wanted, but without having someone at 157 pounds, it is hard to overcome the loss of all those points. I am very proud of the guys.”
 
The Huskies advanced seven of their nine wrestlers to the finals of the tournament. However, it wasn't till Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) at 165 pounds did Bloomsburg get its first PSAC champion. Veltre, ranked 26th by the Wrestling Report.com, opened the day with a win by major decision, then, won 5-0 in the semi-finals. In the finals he faced off against Edinboro's Johnny Greisheimer, ranked 16th by Intermat, and scored a 6-3 win, to earn his first PSAC title.
 
Chris Smith (Mineral, Va./Chancelor) followed at 174 pounds and also earned his first title with a 4-2, sudden victory over Clarion's Ryan Darch. In the semi-finals, Smith beat Edinboro's Patrick Jennings, the top seed, 3-1, after getting a win by default to start the day.
 
At 197 pounds Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown), ranked won his first PSAC title after taking third last season. Perry opened the day with back-to-back wins by fall. He then scored a 9-6 win over Kutztown's Vinny Campanile to reach the title bout. In the finals, Perry beat Clarion's Justin Ortega, a transfer from Penn State, 6-4.
 
At 285 pounds Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) also scored his first-ever PSAC crown. Grant, ranked 18th by Intermat, opened the day with a win by fall in just 20 seconds. He then beat Lock Haven's Harry Turner 5-2 to move into the finals. In the championship bout Grant, a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier this year, scored a win by fall in 3:22 to win the title.
 
Bloomsburg also advanced to the finals at 133 pounds where Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY/Greene Central) lost to Edinboro's A.J. Schopp, ranked fourth in the country, by a score of 9-0. At 149 pounds, Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood) had to medical forfeit and did not wrestle for the title, while at 184 pounds Andre Petroski (Glenn Mills/Springfield) lost 4-1 in the finals to Fred Garcia of Lock Haven.
 
The four champions at the PSAC championships is the first time since the 2000 season that the Huskies have had four winners. Also, the third place finish snapped a six-year streak of finishing second for the Huskies.
 
Bloomsburg goes back to dual competition on Sunday, Dec. 16 when it faces off with #7 Missouri at Madison Sqaure Garden as part of the Grapple at the Garden. Match time is set for 12:30 p.m. For tickets visit the http://www.thegarden.com/grapple